United League Baseball
United League Baseball was an independent baseball league that opperated in Texas. It later merged with the Northern League and the Golden Baseball League to form the North American League. The league began its first season on May 16, 2006 with six teams: the Alexandria Aces, Amarillo Dillas, Edinburg Coyotes, Laredo Broncos, Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings and San Angelo Colts. The San Angelo franchise previously played in the now-defunct Central Baseball League, while the Amarillo Dillas previously played in the now-defunct Texas-Louisiana League. The United League was originally owned by an investor group, United Sports Equities, which listed Brad Wendt as Managing Director, his brother Gary Wendt as a Principal, John Bryant CEO and Byron Pierce as COO. The ULB filed for Chapter 11 Reorganization in January 2009 amid financial mismanagement and defaults on stadium leases by Brad Wendt and was ultimately forced into Chapter 7 by John Bryant who along with Pierce now control the league. Since the ownership change the league has been evicted from ballparks in three of its six cities: Amarillo, Coastal Bend, and Laredo. Also, there are numerous persistent reports of employees and players throughout the league not being paid at the end of the 2010 season[1], while Reunion spent $300,000 buying a horse breeding firm[2]. The Amarillo lease was awarded to Southern Independent Baseball in early November, 2010. Most insiders believe that the ULB has little hope to play the 2011 season, since the Amarillo Dillas compromised most of the leagues revenue. Profits from Amarillo were used throughout the ULB's history to prop up financially unsuccessful teams. As it stands in November of 2010, the ULB in 2011 will consist of Edinburg, Harlingen, and San Angelo, and has merged with a new league to be called the North American League, composed of the ULB, The Golden League, and the Northern League. As of December 2010, employees have yet to be paid for the final part of the 2010 season. Half of the 2010 rent owed to Potter County has been paid, and Reunion continues to pursue litigation against Amarillo. ULB Champions *2006 - Alexandria Aces *2007 - Alexandria Aces *2008 - Amarillo Dillas *2009 - Amarillo Dillas *2010 - Amarillo Dillas Most Valuable Players *2006 - Josh Tranum, Alexandria Aces *2007 - Palmer Karr, Alexandria Aces *2008 - Danny Bravo, Amarillo Dillas *2009 - (tie) Keanon Simon and Dustin Taylor, Amarillo Dillas *2010 - (tie) Kevin Butler and Carlos Figueroa, Amarillo Dillas All-star game United League Baseball hosted an annual All-Star Game which rotated host cities throughout the league. Its format in 2008 featured the United League all-stars versus the Golden League all-stars. In 2006 the first All-Star Game pitted the best team against the all-stars from the rest of the United League. In 2007 the second All-Star Game pitted Team North (All-Stars from Alexandria, Amarillo and San Angelo) against Team Rio Grande (All-Stars from Edinburg, Laredo and Rio Grande Valley). The ULB's all-star festivities are a two-day event, the first day featuring various celebrations and recognitions, followed on the second day by the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game. Game Results *2006 - United League Baseball All-Stars 12, Edinburg Coyotes 2 (Edinburg, Texas) *2007 - Team North 10, Team Rio Grande 1 (Amarillo, Texas) *2008 - United League Baseball All-Stars 8, Golden League 5 (San Angelo, Texas)